Expert: Std Study No Surprise

March 14, 2008|By NICOLE PAITSEL, nstanley@dailypress.com 247-4737

Sex sells, but it also causes passionate debate in Virginia.

As the General Assembly argued whether to fund Planned Parenthood this week, the federal government released statistics that show one in every four teenage girls is infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

The numbers were no surprise to local Planned Parenthood staff members. They point out that 40 percent to 45 percent of all chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases in Virginia are reported in the Hampton Roads region.

"The statistics were concerning, but they weren't a surprise," said Dede Raney, lead clinician for Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia. Raney said the organization isn't legally allowed to release the exact number of STD cases it reports each year.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, the Hampton Roads region saw an 8 percent increase in chlamydia cases and a 13 percent increase in syphilis cases in 2006. The department's 2007 report on chlamydia lists 8,000 cases in teens ages 15-19.

The General Assembly's battle over Planned Parenthood funding ended Wednesday when House Republicans compromised with Senate Democrats to keep funding for the organization in the budget.

"Planned Parenthood is all about education, and we do need funding," Raney said. "We do about 50 percent education and 50 percent medical treatment. We do so much in the community; we go to schools and churches and shelters, and it's just unfortunate that some people only know us for the one-third of abortions that we do."

The General Assembly's decision followed the controversial January bill that postponed for two years mandatory vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus which is known to cause cervical cancer. And in November, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine cut funding for abstinence-only sex education programs.

Jerry Gammon of the Smart Moves program at the Boys & Girls Club in Newport News teaches an abstinence-only curriculum to his students. He said the most important thing is for all of the sex-education programs to continue teaching.

"Abstinence works every time it's tried - there's a no-failure rate with abstinence - but I don't judge any other programs for what they're teaching," he said.

Nationally, the Center for Disease Control study looked at data from 838 girls, ages 14-19, who answered a 2003-04 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Some of the diseases the CDC studied are not tracked in Virginia, and comparable statistics are not available.

"With chlamydia we can intervene and stop disease transmission. The other infections in the study aren't curable and public health organizations generally don't have the resources to keep up with those types of infections," said Elaine Martin, director of community services for the Virginia Department of Health.

Raney believes the statistics show a lack of education, a lack of access to low-cost medical care and a common teenage belief in infallibility. In her clinics, she said patients will often wait until there's a problem before they come in.

"More than 70 percent of women who have chlamydia don't have any symptoms and they are taking advantage of the screening when they come into the clinic for something else. They are completely shocked when they get the call that they have chlamydia," Raney said.

THE STATISTICS

Virginia

* 40-45 percent of Virginia's chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea cases are in the Hampton Roads region